Governor Cuomo Delivers Impassioned Address to New Yorkers at Massive Rally Before Election Day
Over 1,000 Supporters Packed Union Hall as Cuomo Faithful Rallied to Get Out The Vote
This election is about saving our city by restoring a government that works, that has knowledge, confidence, and ability to actually make things happen and get things done. And to stand up to Trump before his antics reach New York. The Mayor of the City of New York is the CEO of one of the largest corporations on the globe. This is not a job for a novice. This is not a job for a person who really never had a job before.
- Governor Andrew Cuomo
Video of Remarks Here
Photos From Event Here
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, candidate for Mayor of New York City, tonight delivered a rousing GOTV address at the Carpenters Union Hall, joined by over a thousand of his most dedicated supporters. Cuomo was flanked by hundreds of labor union members, grassroots volunteers, party faithful and elected officials who came together to hear Cuomo deliver a speech that emphasized his experienced leadership, the need for Democrats to reclaim the working class that built New York City, and his call for an inclusive city that denounces hateful and divisive rhetoric.
A transcript of his remarks are below:
All the senior citizen centers, all the stops, all the miles in that flatbed truck with that sound system. Let’s give them more—a round of applause. I can't tell you how grateful I am. You heard from Cara and Michaela. I have three daughters. Mariah is not here. But two outta three ain't bad, as they say—before your time. And Mariah's going to be here tomorrow. This election matters. This election is not just about electing a mayor of the City of New York. This election matters. Remember, we lost the last election, and there's a message in that. When you get knocked on your tukkus, as they would say in New York, you should look in the mirror and understand what happened and learn from it—and then get up.
The last election told us that the Democratic Party had lost its bearings, and we are gonna redefine what the Democratic Party is really all about. And it is really all about you. It is about the hard-working women and men of New York City. It’s about the working families. It's about the struggling middle class. It's about people worrying about their kitchen table issues—trying to figure out how to pay for groceries, and pay for their rent, and pay for tuition, and pay for taxes. That's what the Democratic Party is all about. And the labor movement has always been the heart and soul of the Democratic Party, and it built the middle class in this state.
What do people want? People want our city to be safe again. We don't wanna have to worry about our children on the subways. We don't want to have to worry about stray bullets from gang violence or dangerous, mentally ill, homeless people on the streets. We want a government that works with us, not against us. We are against dismantling the police. We're against legalizing prostitution. Against the jails that did not work. We want more police and a better relationship with the community. We want quality schools in every district—not just the rich districts, but in the poor districts.
Our Democratic Party is against the divisive, hate-filled rhetoric we have heard from some Democrats in this election. The rabbi's words were very powerful. We are against calls to globalize the intifada—the declaring open season on Jewish people. We are against those who would glorify Hamas—terrorists who are destined to kill Jewish people. We're against those who would speak hate and say, “President Obama is evil,” or “President Obama is a liar,” or “Leader Hakeem Jeffries is like George Wallace.” We're not that type of Democrat, and we don't want that type of Democrat in our Democratic Party.
We stand shoulder to shoulder with our Jewish brothers and sisters, and our Black brothers and sisters, with our Muslim brothers and sisters, with our Christian brothers and sisters. Because we believe our diversity is our greatest strength, and we celebrate it. It's Donald Trump's strategy to divide and conquer. That's what he does. He tries to draw wedges across the nation, among the American people. And once he has us divided, he thinks there's an opportunity for him to then attack. We believe the exact opposite. Democrats—we're gonna stand strong, stand united, stand tall. You are not going to separate us. We're gonna lock arms, and we're gonna go forward.
This election is about saving our city by restoring a government that works, that has knowledge, confidence, and ability to actually make things happen and get things done. And to stand up to Trump before his antics reach New York. The Mayor of the City of New York is the CEO of one of the largest corporations on the globe. This is not a job for a novice. This is not a job for a person who really never had a job before. This is not a job, as Rodneyse said, for on-the-job training. We need someone who knows what they're doing on day one—because your lives depend on it. And we know—we know—that we can make government work because that's what we did in New York State. They said we couldn't do it—we did it. They said we couldn't pass marriage equality and set a new civil right across the nation—we did it. They said we couldn't raise the minimum wage to the highest in the nation—we did it. They said we couldn't pass paid family leave—we did it. Don't tell us we can't do it. We can do it when we're together.
We need to get the rent down, because the rent is too darn high. The way you do that is by increasing the supply of affordable housing—by building more affordable housing. And that's what we haven't been doing. And we know how to do it. Don't tell me that it's that difficult or it's that complicated. Only for an incompetent government is it complicated and difficult. Go to LaGuardia Airport and tell me if we can build affordable housing. Go to the Second Avenue Subway. Go to the Moynihan Train Station. Go to the third track on the Long Island Railroad. Go to the Mario Cuomo Bridge that touches the sky—and tell me if we know how to put two bricks together to build affordable housing.
We know that we can face any challenge. And if you ever wonder about our potential, just think back to what we faced during COVID. COVID was literally life and death. We were alone. No one was there to help. No one knew any answers. No one knew what was going to happen. And New Yorkers came together in such a beautiful way—everyone doing their part for everyone else. The healthcare workers, the police, the firefighters, the EMS, neighbors helping neighbors. And we saved lives. So we know—there is nothing that we can't do now.
Tomorrow is the day. It all comes down to tomorrow. And your vote is your voice. It is a civic obligation, and it is a personal opportunity to improve your life. Now, it's going to be hot tomorrow. So, think about voting early. Think about voting late. But yes—we may perspire tomorrow. But remember, we are perspiring because we are aspiring—for a city that we are going to build that is better than ever before.
And my friends, remember what this is all about at the end of the day. Because it is about love. It's about our love for our home. It's about the love our parents showed us by building us this great city. It's the love that we are showing our children by passing it on to them. And it is a love of a city that represents such a powerful concept that says, come one, come all. You are invited to the family of New York, and we will grow and thrive. And that is the global, international message of love that brought all of us here and all of our forebears here. And that's why we love this city. And that's why it's the greatest city in this country and on this globe. And that's why we have to win tomorrow. And what we have to do, what tomorrow is going to be about is what we do. We work. We work, we know how to work. And everything we've accomplished, we've accomplished by working. And we're gonna go out there and knock on doors, and we're gonna make phone calls, and we're gonna bring neighbors to the polls, and we're gonna drive people to the polls, and we're gonna get out every vote that we need to get out. Hot or not. I don't give a darn. We have the people of New York with us. We're going to change the destiny of this city tomorrow.
You make it happen. You bring it home. Organized labor, volunteers, everyone working together. And we're going to build a New York City better than you've ever seen before, more inclusive than you've ever seen before, more loving than you've ever seen before, and we're going to do it together tomorrow.
Thank you. God bless.
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